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Social Media Tip Leads to Life Sentence for Janel Marie Nelson in 2024 Killing of Michael Corrigan

Janel Marie Nelson, 53, pleaded no contest on Oct. 24 and received a life sentence with parole possible after 18 years for the killing of Michael James Corrigan, 55. Corrigan was found Aug. 22 in his Beavercreek living room with a single gunshot wound to the back of his head; investigators say a .380-caliber round was fired the previous day. A Facebook selfie helped detectives trace Nelson to Omaha, where she was questioned, arrested and later linked to a firearm recovered from her vehicle. Family and friends remembered Corrigan fondly; Nelson’s lawyer did not comment.

02:14 AM, 11/27/2025Society
Social Media Tip Leads to Life Sentence for Janel Marie Nelson in 2024 Killing of Michael Corrigan

Janel Marie Nelson, 53, of Thorp, Wisconsin, pleaded no contest on Oct. 24 to charges in the death of her on-again, off-again partner, Michael James Corrigan, 55, and was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 18 years, according to the Greene County prosecutor’s office.

“By entering pleas of no contest, Nelson did not make an admission of guilt,” the prosecutor’s statement said. “Rather, she made an admission of the truth of the facts alleged in the indictment. Based upon this, the Court found her guilty.”

Case details

Corrigan was found dead in a living room chair at his Beavercreek, Ohio, home on the night of Aug. 22, 2024, after relatives grew concerned when he did not answer calls or texts. Police determined he had suffered a single gunshot wound to the back of his head. A court affidavit indicates investigators believe a .380-caliber round fired from roughly 10 feet struck him the day before.

Investigators narrowed their focus to Nelson after a detective traced a social media post: a Facebook selfie in Omaha posted by a relative that included Nelson with the caption, “Seeing my mother for the first time in 16 years.” Detectives located Nelson at a church in Omaha and brought her in for questioning.

Prosecutors say Nelson admitted to several key facts during the interview, including that she had been with Corrigan shortly before he was killed. She described their relationship as “off and on.” Nelson was arrested on a warrant charging multiple offenses, and investigators later executed a search of her vehicle and recovered a firearm later identified as the weapon used in the killing. She was subsequently extradited to Ohio.

Friends and family have remembered Corrigan as “happy-go-lucky” on a memorial page. Nelson’s attorney did not respond to requests for comment.

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